Car-seat



' 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. (1-. B. ST. JOHN.

CAR SEAT.

(No Model.)

Patented Deb. 6,1881. 1

. 7kz'fnesse 32/123 Ao-yfle/ NrTnn STATES PATENT Trice.

GARLAND B. ST. JOHN, OF CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA.

CAR-SEAT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 250,597, dated December 6, 1881. Application filed July 14, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GARLAND B. ST. JOHN, of the city of Cedar Rapids, in the county of Linn and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oar-Seats, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to so construct a seat for cars and other public conveyances that it may be easily and quickly adjusted to any position that may be desired, either in sitting or lying, without removal, addition, or substitution of parts.

The invention consists in a seating arrangement composed of three sections, the middle one of which is suspended by an arm at each end to the upright supports or standards, be-

tween which it swings freely, and to which it is fastened at any angle by a suitable stop. To the middle section are attached others, which may also be adjusted at any desired angle by means of bars connecting them with the arms above mentioned, or by quadrants or other suitable device for changing and fixing their relative position to the middle section. v

I will now more fully and exactly describe this invention.

1n the accompany ing drawings,Figure 1 represents the invention as adjusted for bed or couch and for a comfortable reclining posture; Fig. 2, the detail of the seat mechanism, and Figs. 3 and 4 the detail of the catch.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

The seat B B B is suspended between supporting-standards A, the upper portion of which constitute the lower half of a circle, of which the center is the middle of the transverse arm at the top. To this point is hinged the apex of a triangular arm, D, the base of which forms the end of the middle section, B. A central rib, (I, is prdvided with a catch, S, which, acting in connection with suitable holes, notches, or recesses in the semicircular standard A, holds the section at any desired angle. To each side of said section is hinged another section similar in form. These are provided at each end with hinged bars 0 G, the opposite ends of which connect with the sides of the triangular arm D, and move freely thereon when the catch Sis disengaged. The outer sections may therefore be set in lines with or at right angles to the middle one, or at any intermediate point, by means of said catch engaging in holes 00 along said triangular arm, as may be seen by reference to the drawings.

When in use as a seat one outer and the middle section are put in line, (or nearly so, as may be desired,) when they are tilted on the center i to a suitable angle for the back of the seat. The remaining section is placed in a nearly horizontal position for the seat and held firmly in place by the bar 0. It thus forms a seat which is neat and elegant in appearance and comfortable in the highest degree. When converted into a couch or bed two seats are used. The back of one is elevated to the perpendicular, the seat set at right angles thereto, and the whole of the other is thrown into line and sethorizontal. ].fdesired,one section may be slightly elevated, as indicated in Fig. 1, and thereby answer perfectly the purpose of a pillow. The conch so made is as long as an ordinary bed and embodies all the requisites of the most comfortable couch.

The particular manner of fasteningthe parts to any required position is comparatively unimportant. The invention consists mainly in the adjustment of parts in the manner and for the purposes heretofore mentioned. But from its peculiar fitness the catch illustrated in the drawings is perhaps best adapted to the purpose. It consists in a circular bolt, S, operating in a suitable slot formed in the bar Gor D, and held in place by cap provided with cushion or spring '22, which bears against the inner circle of the bolt. The bolt is thrown in and out of holes 00 by means of a nib, n, or other suitable device.

The points of utility possessed by the abovedescribed invention have been already indicated and will appear. Much of the discomfort and weariness of railroad traveliis caused by the imperfect character of the seats. Not being high enough to afford a resting-place for the head, the traveler is forced into a nearly perpendicular andirksome position of the back, neck, and head, whichis a source of annoyance, amounting in long journeys to positive misery. By extending the back of the seat, as in this invention, a comfortable head-rest is secured, and the whole seat may then be tilted to the position best suited to each traveler. The importance of the couch or bed in extended trips is still more obvious. But the expense incident to travel on the ordinary sleeping-cars is so considerable that comparatively few avail themselves of its benefits; therefore it is desirable that cars be so constructed as to admit of being easily converted into sleepingcars, and that without such increased expense in manufacture as shall demand of their patrons the present high rates of fare. As has been said, this invention may be made into a bed, the clothing supplied as in the sleepingcars in common use. This is not, however, absolutely necessary. The traveler can rest equally well on a couch, provided his position be not constrained and unnatural, and this result is perfectly realized in this invention without the addition or substitution ofa'single part.

A serious objection to the present form'of sleeping-car arises from the necessity of arranging the seats in pairs facing each other. Consequently halt the passengers are obliged in the day-time to ride backward and sit face to face, not always with agreeable companions. This defect my invention entirely removes.

The further advantages possessed by this invention, of elegance in appearance, convenience both for the purposes of use, and in sweeping, dusting, 850., together with extreme simplicity and ease of manipulation, are matters that will at once suggest themselves.

For the purpose of this application I have shown only the triangular arm in connection with the middle cushion or section of seat, and in practice this is probably the best form. I

am aware, however, that the same results may be secured by the use of a single straight arm in the center, to which the movable arms are hinged and made to shift at the end connected with the outer sections. My invention comprehends all such changes in the form of the parts as modify the appearance merely without changing the result, as the gist of the same is in adjustment of the three parts of the seat in connection with the supporting-standards, for the purposes designated.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. The combination, substantially as described, with the frame A, reversible back B, and bars for pivoting them together, of the end sections, B, forming the seat and head-rest, and vice versa, pivoted to the ends of the back and provided with suitable adjusting devices, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the frame A, reversible back B, and bars for pivoting them together, ofthe seat and head sectionsB B, hinged to the ends ofthe back and provided with the pivoted bars 0, engaging with the back pivoting-bars, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of back B, having seat and head-rest hinged thereto, with arm D, braces O,stops S, and support A, substantially as described.

GARLAND B. ST. JOHN.

Attest:

J. M. ST. JOHN, EDWARD L. ELY. 

